The majority of water faucets employed a threaded stem which carried a washer at one end. The stem was threaded for vertical translational movement relative to a faucet body. The stem either directly engaged threads in the faucet body or engaged mating threads in a stem nut which was, in turn, threadingly mounted to the faucet body. To control water flow, the stem was rotated by a handle at its upper end and moved the washer relative to a faucet seat which provided a closable opening to the water feed line.
After continued usage, the faucet components were subjected to wear through a number of factors including corrosion, torsional and compressive stresses and water flow abrasion. As a result, faucet components were susceptible to breakage, fracture and dislodgement within the faucet body or water feed line. A common occurrence was the dislodgement of the water retaining screw. This was due to a combination of factors including rotation of the stem while the screw was frictionally restrained by the washer in contact with the seat.
Pieces of washer material and fragments of washer screws, e.g. broken screw heads, were often dislodged. The dislodged materials were turbulently carried by the water flow and caused annoying vibration within the faucet body and/or water feed line and accelerated wear on further faucet elements.
When repairs were attempted, the water feed line valve was first shut off and the faucet opened. If the dislodged object was accessible in the faucet body, retrieval was possible. Often, attempts at retrieving the object were unsuccessful and the object fell into the water feed line. In a majority of instances, the objects had fallen into the water feed line prior to removal attempts. Once the object fell into the water feed line, it became unretrievable with ordinary tools.
To compound the problem, unsuccessful attempts at retrieval of an object from the water feed line were made with unsuitable implements such as hairpins, wire hangers and paper clips, with the result that the repair implements themselves were dropped into the water feed line. When the qualified repair personnel were finally retained, corrective repair required the dismantling of the water feed line and, in some occasions, replacement of the feed line.
While it occurred to the inventor that the water supply valve could be opened to flush out the object from the line, this practice was accompanied by significant and major disadvantages. The resulting geyser flow would be uncontrollable and result in showering the environs with water. If a hot water line was being purged, the water flow itself was accompanied by potential burn risk. Further, uncontrolled water showers could cause water damage to the ceiling, floors, cabinets and walls, much to the housewife's dismay.
In addition, if such attempt was made, one was still not certain if the object was actually removed since it was difficult, if not impossible, to locate a small object which could have been thrown anywhere by the water geyser. It would be necessary to reassemble the faucet after replacing the washer and washer screw and any other broken components, reopen the water feed valve and see if the annoying vibration remained. If it did, the faucet had to be dismantled again and the room sprayed in a further attempt to flush the object loose